Verizon to launch Xoom Android tablet from tommorrow

23 Feb 2011

The Xoom Android tablet is set to open for sale tomorrow for $599.99 with a two-year service agreement, Verizon  confirmed today.

It will be the first 10.1-in tablet to run the new ''Honeycomb'' version of Android and will cost $799.99.

Rumours that the Xoom would sell for $800 without a contract had been doing the rounds for some days now. According to some bloggers the price tag was so high that  people would be discouraged from comparing the Xoom to the 9.7-in. iPad and other devices currently available in the $500-$730 range. An iPad with 32GB of storage and 3G service sells for $729; as against an equivalent Xoom at $799.99.

According to Verizon, the wireless 3G service for the Xoom started at $20 a month for 1GB of data and further details on 3G pricing were not immediately available.

In a statement Verizon added that upgrades to 4G LTE service would be possible in the second quarter at no extra charge.

The Xoom is also Wi-Fi ready.